Chippendale chairs are named after furniture maker and interior designer Thomas Chippendale. His celebrated body of work has never lost its appeal — the Englishman is renowned all over the world for having designed superb furniture in numerous styles.
Chippendale became famous worldwide after the publication of his pattern book The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director during the mid-1700s. The book was immediately very important for furniture design — it sold very well and was inclusive of nearly every known furniture type at the time. A detail-oriented thinker who designed furnishings that integrated French Rococo, Gothic and Neoclassical styles, Chippendale was also influenced by Chinese design.
Some Chippendale chairs, with their broad, square seat frames, feature artistically bold seat backs with carved patterns and pointed arches. The chairs are supported by elegantly curved legs, often ending with lion’s paw-shaped feet. Imported mahogany was the preferred wood with respect to meticulously carved details of this kind. Original Chippendale chairs, which were likely built by carvers and cabinet-makers who worked in Thomas Chippendale's workshop, are highly valued by collectors and can be difficult to find in today's marketplace.
On 1stDibs, shop authentic Chippendale furniture and Chippendale-style-inspired chairs, including the Chippendale side chair and the Chippendale wingback chair.